Germanwings 9525

Germanwings: How Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance Systems could save lives -- The technology exists to physically take command away from a pilot to save an aircraft from imminent collision with the ground and is in operation with the U.S. Air Force. Developed by NASA, the Air Force and Lockheed Martin, the Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System (Auto-GCAS), entered service in September 2014 and is already credited with saving at least two F-16s and their crews. Guy Norris/Aviation Week

Germanwings crash casts pall on Lufthansa anniversary -- Lufthansa was supposed to be celebrating the 60th anniversary of its postwar rebirth this month. Instead, on Wednesday, the day of that anniversary, the German airline faced perhaps the worst crisis in its history after admitting that it was aware the co-pilot who deliberately crashed one of its planes in the French Alps last week, killing himself and the other 149 people on board, had a history of severe depression. Jack Ewing & Nicola Clark/New York Times

Germanwings: Investigators look for 'systematic weakness' in aviation rules -- French aviation investigators said Tuesday they will examine "systemic weaknesses" such as cockpit entry rules and psychological screening procedures that could have led to the Germanwings plane crash - issues that could affect the worldwide aviation industry. Lufthansa, meanwhile, said its insurers had set aside $300 million to deal with possible costs from the March 24 crash. AP

Video of Germanwings flight's final seconds? -- Reports say a cell phone video shows the nightmarish final seconds of Germanwings Flight 9525, but a police spokesman said the accounts were "completely wrong." French magazine Paris Match and German newspaper Bild reported that a video recovered from a phone at the wreckage site showed the inside of the plane moments before it crashed. "One can hear cries of 'My God' in several languages," Paris Match reported. Pamela Brown, Frederik Pleitgen & Laura Smith-Spark/CNN 

Airports

Residents weigh in on airport noise at Bob Hope Airport -- Burbank resident Mike Moynahan said when his family lived on Evergreen Street in 1997, planes from Bob Hope Airport would shake the walls of their home during the night and wake his infant daughter. He said the planes have gotten quieter, in general, but they still sometimes wake his daughter - now 16 - in their home on Jeffries Avenue, just outside the boundary of eligibility for the airport's residential acoustic treatment program, which pays to insulate and soundproof homes near the airfield. Chad Garland/Burbank Leader

American Airlines to drop direct flight between PBIA and LAX -- American Airlines says it plans to drop its direct flight between Palm Beach International Airport and the West Coast on May 7 - roughly 1 1/2 years after it launched the non-stop service. The direct flight to Los Angeles International Airport had been heralded as a major victory for PBIA as it tries to compete with airports in Broward and Miami Dade counties. Jennifer Sorentrue/Palm Beach Post

Program to Focus on LAX Improvements -- A progress report on the current LAX airport improvement program is scheduled on Tuesday, April 28, at 10 a.m. at the Flight Path Museum in the LAX Imperial Terminal, 6661 W. Imperial Hwy., Los Angeles. Tim Ihle of the Los Angeles World Airports development staff will provide a status update on upgrades to airline passenger facilities, ground transportation and other major construction projects underway or planned at the airport. Flight Path News Release

Run the Runway attracts big crowd to Long Beach Airport -- A crowd of runners gathered Tuesday under the din of helicopters, jet aircraft and live rock and roll to take advantage of the rare opportunity to run along a newly-paved airport runway. "It was cool. I got to be an airplane for, like, 10 minutes," said Kerah Hunter, 12, and one of several students from Long Beach charter school Intellectual Virtues Academy who participated in Long Beach Airport's Run the Runway. Andrew Edwards/Long Beach Press-Telegram

San Jose airport suffers fifth security breach in less than one year -- For the fifth time in less than a year, a person was arrested after trespassing on airport property at Mineta San Jose International Airport. According to airport spokeswoman Vicki Day, a woman who has not yet been identified was spotted around 5:15 p.m. by a UPS employee along the south fence at the airport. San Jose police said the woman was walking eastbound and when officers approached her, she became combative and had to be "subdued" before she was arrested. Katie Nelson/San Jose Mercury News

Uber driver tried to burgle Denver home after airport drop-off, police say -- Uber driver in Colorado was arrested Tuesday after he tried to break into the home of a passenger he had dropped off at an airport, Denver police said. Gerald Montgomery, 51, took the woman to Denver International Airport on Thursday, then returned to her home and "tried to break in through the back door with burglary tools," said Sonny Jackson, spokesman for the Denver Police Department. Ryan Parker/Los Angeles Times

Detroit Metro Airport TSA employees demanding armed agents at security checkpoints -- Following a bizarre attack on travelers and security employees at New Orleans International Airport two weeks ago, Transportation Security Administration agents are planning a rally at Detroit Metro Airport in Romulus Wednesday morning. The purpose is to "demand new security measures to protect passengers and employees in airport security screening areas," a statement released by the TSA union Tuesday said. Gus Burns/MLive.com

FAA

FAA revokes GlobalJet's Air carrier certificate -- The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration has revoked the air carrier certificate of GlobalJet NA, LLC of Scottsdale, Ariz., for allegedly conducting unauthorized operations for compensation or hire in violation of the Federal Aviation Regulations. The FAA alleges GlobalJet operated a Cessna 550 jet on at least 47 flights for compensation or hire when it was not authorized to use the aircraft for these operations. FAA Press Release

Airlines

Wall Street likes United but support from pilots continues to lag -- Management at  United Airlines increasingly has been gaining the backing of Wall Street analysts, but support among United pilots continues to lag. "On a daily basis, pilots continue to report problems with pay, training, scheduling, hotels and transportation, crew meals, pilot-pushing and numerous other issues," wrote leaders of the United chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association, in a letter sent to United's 12,000 pilots on Friday. Ted Reed/TheStreet

Allegiant Air's pilots union says airline is scraping by on safety -- The union representing Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air's pilots has turned up the heat on company management by publishing a letter to customers warning them of safety concerns they have with the airline. APA Teamsters Local 1224 has purchased advertising on Google directing prospective Allegiant customers to a letter telling them that passengers could be "flying an airline that is content with just barely meeting acceptable safety standards." Richard N. Velotta/Las Vegas Review-Journal

Is Virgin America really going to fly to Branson, Mo.? -- In what appears to be an early April Fool's Day stunt, British tycoon Richard Branson announced his Virgin Group empire would move its U.S. headquarters and "a section of his UK operations" to Branson, Mo. As part of the apparent April Fool's Day ruse, Virgin America also announced its "intent to begin new weekly nonstop flights later this year" to Branson, which opened a privately owned airport in 2009. Ben Mutzabaugh/USA Today

Shares of US airlines down as they face a glut of empty seats -- Share prices of U.S. airlines, including American Airlines, the world's biggest carrier, were off to their worst start of the year since 2011 on Tuesday. The slump is a result of analyst concerns that airlines are offering too many seats, reported Bloomberg News. The shares of 10 out of 11 U.S. air carriers, including No. 2 and 3 Delta and United, fell on Tuesday, and had the slowest period to open the year since an 8.7 percent drop in 2011. Ismat Sara Mangla/International Business Times

Southwest Airlines faces $328,550 in additional fines from Federal Aviation Administration -- The Federal Aviation Administration announced Tuesday it has proposed $328,550 in penalties against Southwest Airlines covering two 2013 instances in which the FAA said the Dallas carrier violated federal aviation regulations. The first case involved an airplane that lost cabin pressure during a flight. The FAA alleged that Southwest mechanics failed to do a mandatory inspection for damage and to make sure depleted oxygen bottles were replaced. Terry Maxon/Dallas Morning News

Virgin airlines owner pulls prank on Branson, Mo. -- Billionaire Sir Richard Branson pulled an early April Fool's Day prank on the town of Branson, Missouri. Earlier this month, Branson posted on his blog that he was eying opportunities in Branson, after learning the town is named for one of his relatives. Tuesday, he followed up with a blog post and series of tweets, suggesting he plans to move his entire U.S. operations to the small town in Taney County. The post blew up on social media, prompting many posters to express excitement about the "news."  But others were quickly skeptical. KOLR10 Springfield, Mo.

Aviation Security

TSA's secretive list of suspicious behaviors revealed -- Airport screeners look for passengers with "face pale from recent shaving of beard" and other common traits to spot potential terrorists through the Transportation Security Administration's controversial behavior-detection program. That's according to the tightly held list of criteria that agents use to select passengers for additional screening methods such as pat-downs, questions and investigations by law-enforcement personnel. Josh Hicks/Washington Post

Tourism & Travel

L.A. County tourism jobs grew nearly 6% in 2014, data show -- Los Angeles County's tourism industry grew by nearly 6% last year, the highest growth rate of any major job sector in the region, according to new employment data. Out of the 96,600 net jobs added in Los Angeles County last year, 25,300 were in the leisure and hospitality industries, according to the California Employment Development Department. Hugo Martin/Los Angeles Times

Thoughts at the end of the road, and a word of advice -- All roads end, and now we come to the end of this one. What a different world it was for business travelers when I first started writing On the Road in March 1999 - 16 years and about 830 columns ago. (I never missed a week, in case you're doing the arithmetic.) Back then, there were 10 major airlines, all battling for market share by adding capacity and waging fare wars on targeted routes, while using tactics like the reviled Saturday-night stay requirement to discourage business travelers from buying cheap leisure fares. Joe Sharkey/New York Times

City Government

Perez and Garcetti take aim at wage theft, minimum wage -- Raising the minimum wage is one thing, but enforcing it is another. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez stressed that point at a pair of events coinciding with Cesar Chavez Day. The two politicians visited a North Hollywood manufacturer and a downtown Los Angeles church Tuesday morning to stump for higher pay for Angelenos and better awareness of wage theft by employers. Tiffany Hsu/Los Angeles Times Also: L.A. County supervisors vote 5-0 to study raising the minimum wage

L.A. is carried away on impounding vehicles, suit says -- Last year, Los Angeles authorities towed and impounded 4,539 motor vehicles for violating the city's 72-hour time limit for parking in the same spot. One of them was a 1999 Toyota Sienna belonging to attorney J. David Sackman and his wife, Jerolyn. That action has landed the city in federal court. The Sackmans, whose small van was hauled away in September while they were out of town, are challenging the city's three-day restriction and impoundment process.  Dan Weikel/Los Angeles Times

LAPD expects to start deploying body cameras this summer -- Los Angeles police officials said Tuesday that the department has received its first batch of body cameras and hopes to deploy the new technology this summer. Although the LAPD has not finalized its policy for the cameras, the department is moving forward with "quite a bit of infrastructure work" to prepare the divisions that will use them first, LAPD's chief information officer told the Police Commission on Tuesday. Kate Mather/Los Angeles Times

Aviation Data & Analysis

World Airline Capacity Up 5.9% in April 2015
Courtesy Oliver Wyman PlaneStats
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